If You Want Compliance, Explain Why
I travel on 50–75 airplanes a year and am subject every single time to the same safety instructions. Line by line, the instructions seem so trivial. Really, how can three inches of a reclined airplane seat make much of a difference? And why do you get so snappy about it, dear flight attendant? Frankly, three inches makes so little difference that I never recline my seat and still get faulted when the battered chair I’m in reclines on its own. Seriously, why?
It continues to strike me as odd that the FAA mandates all of these safety points without requiring airlines to explain to passengers why the rules exist. By themselves, each of the following items do seem trivial:
- Put your tray tables up for takeoff and landing;
- Stow baggage for takeoff and landing;
- Stow larger electronic devices for takeoff and landing (this one still gets me; I was asked to put my Macbook Air away when my neighbor’s massive, comparably sized 12.9" iPad Pro somehow passed scrutiny…does 1.37 pounds really make that much of a difference?);
- Pull seats up into their full, upright, and locked positions;
- And, lastly, open all window shades.
Every single one of these asks feel like an inconsequential inconvenience. When factored together, however, these asks may spell the difference between life and death. If airlines underscored the role these asks play in the case of evacuations, most passengers would get it and oblige.
- Tray tables down impede getting up or exiting a row in the case of emergency and may also strike you if unlatched in extreme turbulence;
- Baggage on the floor may cause exiting passengers to trip in the case of emergency or become loose and cause injury in extreme turbulence;
- Larger electronics, like baggage or tray tables, can obstruct quick exits in the case of emergency and may also hit you in the face;
- Reclined seats also obstruct passage in and out of rows during emergencies, further inhibiting evacuations when it matters most;
- And open windows help you and flight attendants see surroundings in landing situations full of treacherous hazards to evacuation.
With one or more of these asks violated, you create a death trap for yourself or other passengers. Imagine the scenario where your laptop is sitting on the tray table, your bag at your feet, the passenger ahead of you’s chair reclined to pin you in, and the window closed so you cannot see a fire blazing outside…yeah, good luck, see you later. Of course, airlines do not want to alarm us with these scenarios, but threat of disaster seems to do the trick anytime passengers in earshot are stubborn when asked to respect the rules. And why not make an exception, just this once? That’s a slippery slope, my friend. Offer leniency for one person and suddenly every airplane in the business becomes a death trap propagated by hedonistic ignoramuses.
Most of these asks may be common sense, but when told to do something against a person’s will, common sense does not always kick in. Our lizard brains get defensive and need to be rationalized with. Please keep this in mind in management, parenting, or any situation where you want to evoke a performance or action out of someone. If you want someone else to do something, have a good reason and always explain why. Never expect a “why” is common sense or expect to be disappointed.
